overpopulation of the world

Overpopulation and its Impact

Overpopulation is now a big global concern. It is endangering our culture as well as the natural world around us. Global change, habitat depletion, environmental tension, and the extreme demand for natural resources all mean that our planet is now overpopulated. According to UN estimates from 2009, our population was 6.8 billion in 2009 and is projected to rise to 9.2 billion by 2050. (UN). Overpopulation has been influenced by a variety of influences over the years.

Causes of Overpopulation

Overpopulation is affected by a number of causes, including health problems and the impact of the industrial revolution. With industrialization and civilization, it is expected that information on the use of contraceptives on family planning is being shared freely. But most nations have been hostile towards the attempt to subvert their own cultures and beliefs. In some countries, where the fertility rate is on the decrease, the population still continues to increase because more people are living together.
From demographic research, the rate of fertility in developing nations is nonetheless significantly smaller than the fertility rate in less developed countries. Despite the fact that the birth rate is falling, the number of men and women expected to have children keeps on growing. This clearly contributes to population explosion which results to even more environmental problems like climate change and change of weather patterns.

Environmental Consequences

Climate change is already affecting the weather patterns. This has catastrophic consequences, and glaciers are melting which millions of people depend on to provide water throughout the year. Many countries are already suffering from severe shortage of water, apparently in some regions of Africa and Asia people have to walk more than 5 kilometers to collect safe drinking water. Food supplies are also vulnerable to falling soil fertility, desertification, and the changing weather patterns.
With the changing weather patterns, more resources are consumed or taken up, space becomes less available, and disposal of waste products increases. This makes people compete for the few resources that are available. Some countries are experiencing serious social conflicts as a result of this. A lot of traffic is experienced, increase of stress and crimes and even forcing some thousands of animal and plant species out of their habitats. These are all things we lose when the populations expand and take up more habitats. We lose our ecological footprints. (Derek)

Conclusion

Losing ecological footprint is an indication that our planet is no longer able to sustain the increasing population. Reversing our rates of populations rise is one measure that is needed to ensure the survival of our environment. It is hard to conclude or draw a definite plan for capping this situation by either family planning or providing additional resources. There is the need for more research on the individual contributing factors to actually solve the problem simultaneously.

Works Cited